Lenovo explores zones IBM left virgin

NEW DELHI: After acquiring IBM's PC division, Chinese computing major Lenovo, plans to foray into different price points and usage segments untouched by IBM till now.

Besides bridging gaps in IBM's offerings, world's third largest computer maker is also mulling bringing Chinese consumer electronics products like digicams to India.

India is emerging as the top three strategic markets as Chinese major consolidates IBM's PC business.

Known to be a price warrier in China, Lenovo promises to add products at the lower as well as the premium end.

"We are studying which products from Lenovo can be launched in India," says Ravi Marwaha, Senior Vice President and Head of Worldwide Sales, Lenovo.

"We will emphasise more on the 'Think' brand in years to come and leverage IBM channel network and sales teams and IBM business partners now will be Lenovo business partners,'' says Neeraj Sharma, managing director (south Asia), Lenovo.

The exercise of identifying Lenovo's products from its portfolio in China for the Indian market would be over in another 60 days.

"I don't think they should clash with IBM products; they will include digital cameras, printers and Pcs for different usage segments. For instance, we have a hi-speed gaming PC, where you can reduce the speed and save power for low-power applications like email,'' explains Marwaha.

For the current product line, Lenovo can use IBM logo for five years but will explore Think brands more than IBM over time. Later, it plans to strengthen and build Lenovo brand.

Claiming to be the best selling PC brand in China for eight consecutive years, Lenovo considers India high on its global priorities and Lenovo worldwide. "India is among the topmost focus countries identified by Lenovo,'' says Ravi Marwaha.

Lenovo announced the acquisition of IBM's Personal Computing Division in December 2004, creating the third-largest personal computing company in the world. Currently Lenovo has approximately $13 billion in revenues and annual product volumes of roughly 14 million units.